Old Media in New New Skins
When does a blog stop being a blog? There’s a lot of nonsense talked about weblogs. Literally, they are nothing more than the product of a certain type of content management system but in practice these products tend to share certain characteristics which has given rise to an assumed definition. We all think we know what weblogs are and from our mutually incompatible, private definitions arise all manner of disagreements.
Weblogs are characterised by short, frequent bursts of writing in which the author reflects on news and opinion elsewhere and shares new discoveries or creations. They are often intermingled with personal opinion, thoughts and feelings that are more typical of a diary than traditional journalism.
The unique appeal of these works originally lay in this personal factor. The way the author invited comment and reflections on his or her posts. The way a community of shared interests could coalesce around a website run by an individual. They way a writer was motivated by passion rather than a paycheck.
And there’s the rub. Success in the field has brought financial rewards.
Many of the famed “A list” of weblogs such as Boing Boing, Gizmodo, Engadget, InstaPundit and Daily Kos are closer to traditional media businesses than the blogs I have been describing above even if they didn’t start that way. They’re old media in new new skins. They’ve lost that charm.
Microsoft can smell the money. Now it too wants to come to the party.